TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The governor’s Christmas tree has arrived at Cedar Crest on a horse-drawn coach.

The Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/1IkgOG2 ) reports that Gov. Sam Brownback hopped on the high-wheel hitch wagon for the final leg of the delivery. He shouted “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Thanksgiving” after jumping from the wagon in front of the governor’s mansion.

Brownback and his wife, Mary, said the tradition stirred memories of past family outings to secure a holiday tree.

The wagon loaded with the Scotch pine from the Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree farm west of Lawrence was pulled by a pair of Percherons named Bill and Buck. Their owner, Wellsville farmer Robin Dunn, has performed the delivery duty for more than a dozen years.

Dunn says the event “kicks off the Christmas season.”